Next week is going to see the release of another of the series of YouTube videos Volvo Trucks has been releasing on social media to increase awareness of its brand. We have seen trucks running with the bulls, high wire acts from truck to truck, executives hanging from a hook, engineers buried up to their necks, hamsters steering trucks and, most famously, Jean Claude van Damme doing the splits on rear view mirrors.
At the upcoming IAA in Hannover, and simultaneously on YouTube, Volvo is set to unveil its latest effort. This preview is giving very little away but is set in the Italian Riviera at the Casino in San Remo. We can expect to see gentlemen in tuxedos and ladies in evening gowns, perhaps with a James Bond theme? Maybe its about the gamble the trucking industry takes when it buys a truck, who knows?
Each of the stunts has been used to highlight, in an obtuse way, one of the features of the truck which Volvo is trying to sell. The effectiveness of this strategy, spending high on film production but distributing it for free via social media, remains questionable. Yes, the videos raise the Volvo brand’s profile, but has it sold more trucks?
Here’s the teaser the truck manufacturer put out in the lead up to its last video release:
http://youtu.be/Yatg89gi0nM